If you live in St. Louis and are trying to decide whether a seating wall is right for you or just want to know what one is, you’ve come to the right place. According to the American Society of Landscape Architects, built-in seating has consistently been one of the top 10 trends in outdoor living design. We get a lot of requests for these–and there’s a good reason for this. It can serve so many different purposes!
There are several reasons why you might want to add a seating wall design feature to your patio. Here are a few examples from the team at Big Bend Landscaping.
Extra seating
The most obvious reason is seating walls give your family and guests a place to sit. No more dragging out folding chairs from the garage every time you want to sit around the fire. And Adirondack chairs or plastic deck chairs have to be stored before winter or a heavy storm.
But seating cut into a retaining wall surrounding a fire pit solves that problem. It typically can also seat more people more efficiently than a patio crowded with chairs. Soften the hard edges of the seats and make the area cozier with pillows and cushions.
Tame a hill
Homeowners often add retaining walls to stop soil erosion or water flow on a hill. While it may be necessary, a retaining wall can be incorporated into the overall design of the landscape and add beauty while working.
By cutting into the slope of a hill in such a way, a ledge can be created. The top of the ledge can be planted with flowers to add beauty and scents. The wall itself can be designed to incorporate seating.
By making turning the hill into a terraced design, you could even create tiered seating. This would be fun for gathering a group to watch a movie or the kids performing skits for the family.
Take advantage of a small space
You don’t need an estate to take advantage of seating walls. In fact, these are ideal for small spaces. A retaining wall that incorporates seating and surrounds a fire pit hits the trifecta of popularity.
A fire pit itself isn’t a large feature on a patio. Even if you have a mansion with a huge patio, you won’t have a large fire pit. That’s because you’ll want to divide your huge patio into cozy conversational areas.
The typical fire pit is about four or five feet across. Adding a seating wall to one or two sides of the fire pit can bring in seating without having to extend your patio out. It also leaves space for foot traffic and a few chairs.
Create Different Spaces With A Seating Wall
Remember the cozy conversation area? That’s one way designers define a space. If you are lucky enough to have a large patio, you could have your fire pit on one side, with your seating wall around it. On the other side of you could place your outside bar or kitchen.
You could even make the wall do double duty – forming the back of the bar while providing seating for the fire pit.
Tie your design elements together
There are so many ways you can design your retaining or seating wall and your fire pit. Using different materials that either blend or contrast with your home is one option.
The actual design of the wall is another way. You can aesthetically echo the wall’s design with the fire pit’s design. If you have a square fire pit, can you make your wall L-shaped?
Using the same type of brick for both the wall and fire pit is another way to tie the elements together. Or capping a pillar on the wall with the same type of material used for the seating could also be done.
Conclusion
If you’d like to add a seating wall with to your outdoor living space, we can help. Feel free to contact us for an online estimate right now or browse our gallery of projects for ideas.
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